Electrical boxes provide a housing for electrical components, such as outlets and switches, when installed in the walls, ceilings or floors of buildings. Electrical boxes are typically secured to a support structure such as a wall stud and aligned with an opening in a covering material, such as wall board or siding. Boxes may be employed to house electrical components both indoors and outdoors.
Outdoor applications typically utilize electrical boxes that can resist contamination, such as water and dirt, created by exposure to the elements. Indoor applications, such as in a bathroom or industrial setting, may also subject an installed electrical component to contamination from cleaning fluid or other debris. Typical outlet boxes include a housing which holds the electrical component and a bracket having a flange which abuts the front face of the wall. In order to satisfy the requirements of such applications, electrical boxes also typically include a cover to shield the electrical components from contamination. Electrical box covers of the prior art may include openings therein to permit cords to extend therethrough, thereby allowing an electrical outlet to be used even when the cover is closed.
Such while-in-use covers are well known in the industry and are used to provide an enclosed housing for electrical devices, such as electrical receptacles, ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI), pushbuttons and switches. While-in-use covers can be installed over electrical devices without having to turn off the device and disconnect the wiring. This makes while-in-use covers convenient and easy to use. The purpose of the cover is primarily to prevent dust, water, and other foreign materials from entering the receptacle. It is of particular importance to prevent rain water from entering the electrical device in order to reduce the risk of short circuits, fire and damage to the device and the electrical system connected to it.
The while-in-use covers currently being used provide protection against water and dust but they are not versatile enough to be used for a broad range of applications. These while-in-use covers are often too small to house large plugs, for example, when a power cord that is plugged into a receptacle requires a converter plug. Moreover, the existing while-in-use covers provide fixed size enclosures and one cover cannot be used for a variety of applications. Another concern is that electrical wire can have different gauges (i.e., diameters), with larger gauge wire having a larger bend radius than smaller gauge wire. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a while-in-use cover that is adjustable and can expand to accommodate a variety of different size plugs and wire bend radii. It is also desirable to provide a while-in-use cover that can collapse or decrease in size when not in use or when its full extension is not required.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an electrical box which is useable both indoors and outdoors and can be properly secured and provides a degree of adjustability to accommodate the position of the box and the thickness of the covering material.